My Visit to… Sea Bright
18 JUNE 2020 | TheJournalNJ.com
This Summer
BY JULIA MORTIMER
As I drive from the Sea Bright
Bridge onto Ocean Avenue,
with “Jersey Girl” by Bruce
Springsteen playing and the salty
help but feel excitement for the summer
ahead. While the sun begins to
hide behind Chapel Beach Club, the
regulations in place.
It was Mother’s Day while the
sun was setting, when I had decided
to take a drive down Ocean Avenue.
The weather was crisp, but the sun
was shining – that wonderful, happy
medium when it is warm enough to
have the windows down, but cool
enough to wear an oversized sweatshirt.
Cars are lined up in front of
restaurants to pick up their dinners
in support of their local favorites. Tommy’s Tavern + Tap had customers
patiently waiting in their cars for the sushi or wings they had all
been missing. Woody’s Ocean Grille appeared to have its pick-up
smiles from their masked customers.
With the ever-changing beach restrictions and regulations, it is dif-
way to enjoy the Jersey Shore.
that surgical masks are now a necessary accessory, the day dreaming of
sun-kissed beach days paired with a late lunch and happy hour at Rory’s
Pub begins. Outdoor seating and live music were once just a part of the
day but now have become something we long for. If the pandemic has
succeeded at anything, it is forcing people to appreciate the little enjoyments
of everyday life, the small snippets of the day that were once taken
for granted.
The mornings-turned-afternoons spent at Donovan’s Reef with best
friends or family are aplenty. Everyone enjoys chatting about future plans
and sharing belly laughs as well as the exchange of pleasantries with people
you had lost touch with and have been meaning to reach out to but life
had gotten in the way. (Has it gotten to the point where I long for small
talk? It appears so.)
As everyday life persists and lifestyles have changed, it is far too easy
to grow exhausted and frustrated. Thinking of the summer that will (hope-
beach days in Sea Bright is one way to help in feeling less discouraged
through the uncertainty of our lives.
Photo courtesy of Rory’s Pub
Photo by Jack Linkin
/TheJournalNJ.com